The Last Laugh
by TCGeek
Summary: What good is sibling rivalry without a little prank war, whether it be in your childhood years or in Greg and Sidney's case... your late thirties. Oneshot Complete


Hello, all.

In case anyone is wondering, Hostage is taking a LOT of time, because of the fact that I needed to complete a LOT of research. Mind you, it is on its way. Thanks for being so patient!

This story, is dedicated to my best FF friend, In The Beginning (yes, I capitalized it right). We have decided that with her love of the Kasals and my love of Derek and Angie, that we would write and trade fics based on each other's preferences. Look for hers soon - I can't wait!

So, here we go. Get ready for some funny business :)

Max Kasal (c) Me  
Rylee Kasal (c) ITB

* * *

Eight year old Greg Kasal walked into his living room with an outstretched hand, a quarter shining in the middle of his palm. Grinning, he closed in on Sidney, who was sitting on the couch watching morning cartoons before they left for school, completely unaware that his brother had come to pay him a visit. 

Greg's dark brown hair bounced a bit as he plopped onto the couch next to his brother, quarter still in hand. He held in his excitement as Sidney slowly turned his eyes away from the television, glancing at the quarter, and then Greg.

"Why are you holding it like that?" Sidney asked, pushing up his glasses as they slipped down the bridge of his nose.

Greg looked at the quarter before he used his free hand to pinch it between his thumb and index fingers, careful not to touch the edges, but not too careful that Sidney would've known what was up.

"I found something that I'm better than you at. Something, that I bet you can't even do."

A fire flared inside Sidney – everyone knew that the Kasal twins were competitive. Some even speculated that their insatiable need to be better than the other started when they were babies, struggling to be the first to learn to crawl, walk, and talk. While this was probably not true, there was one thing that always remained a fact – whenever one twin boasted about their ability to excel, it would end in a showdown of skill, a ritual that would follow Greg and Sidney until they became too old to do anything. And even then, they would probably end up challenging one another to wheelchair races and applesauce eating contests.

"Yeah, right Greg. There's nothing you can do better than I can do except be _bad_ at stuff."

Yep. That comment was the icing on the cake for Greg. Now he REALLY wasn't going to regret this.

"Alright Sidney – I bet you can't take this quarter and roll the edge from your forehead to your chin without lifting it off your face." Greg boasted, his eyes dancing with amusement.

Before he knew what had hit him, Sidney had ripped the coin from Greg's hands and had done the trick, casting a big, dark, pencil line straight down the middle of his face. Greg had been prepared for how funny this was going to be, and instead of laughing at the situation, put on his best defeat face and stormed out of the room, as Sidney's triumphant glare followed him out the door. As soon as Greg had rounded the corner, he ran to his and Sidney's bedroom, collapsing onto his bed in a fit of giggles before he heard two honks.

"Sidney! The bus is here!" he yelled, grabbing his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder, meanwhile forgetting to tell his brother about the prank he had pulled on him.

The first stop of the day, Greg and Sidney boarded the empty bus and sat in the back as stop by stop, kids loaded onto the bus. They all smirked and giggled at Sidney, keeping the secret, but he paid no mind to them anyway, as he was buried in one of his Sci-Fi books.

As the brothers got off the bus, Greg stopped Sidney from walking in the building.

"Okay, the quarter trick, was a hoax – it was a trick I played on you." Greg said, chuckling nervously.

Sidney crossed his arms. "Greg, you are making that up. Stop being a sore loser just because I'm better than you at your own trick." he replied sternly.

Alright, if he was going to play that way, then Greg wasn't going to tell him there was pencil on his face. The joke's on you, Sidney.

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As the twins walked inside after getting off the bus, Greg was absolutely dumbfounded that nobody had told Sidney about the mark, but that all changed when their mother greeted him at the door.

"Sidney, did you draw on yourself again!?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"What do you mean, draw on myself?" he asked as he pushed past her, walking inside to the bathroom. Greg stood in the doorway with his mother as Sidney became silent, before he walked back out of the bathroom, a furious glare on his face.

Greg couldn't help but laugh, but it soon turned to nervous silence as Sidney walked towards him slowly. Instead of a punch in the stomach like he expected, Greg heard the words which would start a feud of a magnitude he never thought possible.

"This, is war."

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"…and that was how I got grounded for two weeks…" Sidney said, chuckling.

Naomi Kasal laughed at her husband's retelling of his childhood prank war with Greg, seated next to him on their couch.

"I can't believe that started when you were eight, and lasted into high school!" she giggled, before taking a sip of her wine.

Sidney raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, you're right – I'm really actually surprised it hasn't kept going…" she admitted, a smile coming form her husband's face.

"Greg got the last one – pantsed me in gym class…" he muttered, to which Naomi laughed hysterically.

"Why haven't you tried to get him back?" she asked, sipping from her glass again.

"We're older now, and we know each other too well – I can see through Greg just like he can see through me. So, there's no way to surprise him…" Sidney mused, drinking the remainder of the wine in his glass. No sooner did he set it down then he had a new object in his hands.

Rylee Kasal gave her dad a big kiss on the cheek.

"Hi daddy!" she chirped.

"Hey princess…" he replied, smiling. "How was your day with Max?"

"It was so fun – we played in his fort all day… even though mine's better, it was still fun."

"Spoken like a true Kasal…" Sidney thought.

"Are you still coming over to play with Max and me tomorrow daddy?" the girl asked, excitement shining in her hazel eyes.

"Sure am sweetheart – now why don't you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?" he suggested, Rylee jumping out of his lap immediately.

Sidney watched her as she ran out of the living room, disappearing around the corner.

"We're so lucky, aren't we?" Naomi asked, grabbing Sidney's hand. "We couldn't have raised a better little girl if we tried…"

"She's an angel… and, smarter _than I am_!!!" Sidney exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Naomi's eyes followed him, searching for an explanation.

"I can't get to Greg – I'm not an… oh, how would I say this… 'insider'" he said, using air quotes.

"Insider?" Naomi asked, looking at him quizzically. "So, who exactly _is_ an 'insider?"

The answer came to a picture that Sidney pointed to on their fireplace mantle. The picture, of Greg's son.

Naomi turned her attention back to him, eyes wide with protest, before she twisted her face back to normal. She held up her hands to him, signifying that she was in no way involved in it, before she got up and walked into the kitchen.

Sidney beamed. This was going to be so much fun.

-------------------------------------------------

"Alright guys, its time to go to bed…"

Thursdays were Greg and Cybil's late night at Hope, so Sidney and Naomi (when she was available, which was not this Thursday) watched Max for them, just as they did on Mondays for Rylee.

Without so much as a peep, Max and Rylee picked themselves up off of the floor where they were watching TV, and walked back into the bathroom to go brush their teeth.

"Max – hold on there a second buddy…" Sidney beckoned, the short, dark haired boy turning around. His nephew sat down on the couch next to him.

"I, need you to do a favor, for Uncle Sidney… can you help me out?" he asked sweetly but quietly – he didn't want Rylee to know what was going on.

"Okay Uncle Sidney!" Max chirped, bouncing in his seat. "Do I get to do something fun?"

Sidney smiled. "Yes Max, but it also involves a secret… I need you, to play a little trick on your dad for me…"

Instead of protesting, Max's eyes lit up. "All RIGHT!! Dad plays tricks on us all the time – and, they stink. Ours will be better for sure, Uncle Sidney!" he said, slapping his uncle a high five.

Sidney looked at his seven year old nephew with a smile. He was a Kasal, all right.

"Okay, come with me…." he said. Sidney walked over to the kitchen where he grabbed a screwdriver out of a drawer, walking back to Greg and Cybil's bedroom, his nephew next to him, Sidney smiled as he stopped at their bathroom, which was full of tools due to the fact that it was being renovated.

"What are we going to do in the bathroom?" Max asked, looking up at his uncle.

"Okay Max, here's how this is going to happen…" he said, slipping his watch off of his wrist.

After the bathroom had been taken care of, Max walked with his uncle out to his father's car, which was in the driveway because he had carpooled with his wife that night. They climbed inside and turned the spare key in the ignition, fiddling with some presets before they got out and locked it.

Finally, Sidney took the boy into the kitchen where he explained a few things to him, before he sent his nephew off to bed.

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Two A.M. rolled around, and Sidney was fast asleep on the couch. A familiar pat on the arm woke up him softly, and just like every other Thursday, he turned to see Greg's face.

"Hey, Greg…" he said groggily.

"Hey Sid – thanks again…"

"No problem…" he said, walking into the room where his daughter and nephew were sleeping in Max's bunk bed. Standing on the tips of his toes, Sidney smiled as he saw Max, fast asleep, his Uncle's watch in his grasps. This was going to be perfect.

Gently, Sidney wrapped Rylee in her blanket and picked her up, silently waving good bye to Greg and Cybil on his way out.

Laying Rylee down on her pink sheets, Sidney pulled a comforter over her and kissed her forehead, before all but collapsing into his own bed, where his wife was fast asleep…

"…You do know you're a horrible influence, right?"

…or so he thought.

"Eh." Sidney said, smiling as he shrugged his shoulders. Rolling over, he brushed Naomi's silver hair away from her face as he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Believe me – if it takes me being called a bad influence for the rest of my life to get to get Greg like this, then I'm fine with it."

Naomi smiled, and then closed her eyes again before sighing.

"You Kasal men…" she muttered, leaving him to chuckle before they both drifted off to sleep.

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Early in the morning, Max Kasal woke to the soft beeping of his uncle's watch gripped tightly in his hands. Smiling, he jumped quietly out of bed and walked softly over to his parents' room, where he found that his mother had already left for work. Smiling, Max walked over to the bathroom as his father snored softly, setting the trap that he and his Uncle Sidney had prepared the night before. Doing his best to stifle giggles, he then walked over to his father's clock, which he set forward an hour to 8:15 – 15 minutes before Greg's shift for the day started. Next, he walked back into the kitchen where he did the same thing to the clock in there, before walking back into his own room and getting dressed. He grabbed the things he would need later for school and departed for Uncle Sidney and Aunt Naomi's house, where he would hide while the madness ensued.

At his desk at Caduceus, Sidney smiled when the clock ticked 7:15 as he picked up his cell phone, dialing home.

"Is he there?" he asked Naomi, smiling as she gave her response.

"Yeah yeah, going to hell, got it. Love you…" he said, before hanging up the phone, only to pick it up once again.

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Bzzzzzzzzzt.

"Ungh…"

Bzzzzzzzzzzt.

Greg Kasal rolled over in bed early on a Friday morning, awoken by the sound of his buzzing cell phone. Glancing quickly at the caller ID, he got mildly irritated as he saw it was Sidney.

"…yeah.." he muttered groggily, rubbing his face with his hand.

Hiding his laughter behind a smile which Greg couldn't see, Sidney set the prank in motion.

"Greg, I hate to play mom here – but, I called you this morning and your office phone is off. Are you even at work?"

Now slightly more irritated, Greg's eyes opened, staring at the ceiling.

"Sidney, you know I don't start work until 8:30…" he muttered.

"Well, if you're in bed still, which it sounds like you are, I suggest you check your clock and get going.." Sidney said, chuckling slightly.

"Yeah, yeah.. very funny Sidney…" he replied. "Goodnight."

With a small click, the phone had been flipped shut and returned to its place on the nightstand. As Greg rolled over to put it there, his eyes caught the clock's display, which now read 8:20 – 10 minutes before his shift started.

His hazel eyes sprung open immediately as he flew out of bed, profanities spilling out of his mouth faster than he knew what had happened.

In an instant, he was in the bathroom, running the shower as he closed the door behind him, which he was going to regret. Soon.

Taking a record breaking shower and grooming himself, Greg went to reach for the doorknob, turning it to find that it would not turn. Jiggling it a few times, he grabbed for the lock button before he noticed something odd.

…there was no lock button. The doorknob had been, turned inside out.

"What the HELL!?" he exclaimed, shaking furiously at the door. "MAX!!! MAX!!!"

Greg thought for a minute. It was almost 8:30 – Max was already at school.

Searching around frantically, he rubbed at the back of his head. Who had done this? No, he could worry about that later – he just needed to focus on getting to work. He was Gregory Kasal, head of surgery at Hope Hospital. He was never late for anything – ever. This couldn't be happening to him… not now, not after his perfect record.

As he turned in a circle one last time, he laid eyes upon the only thing that was going to get him out.

"Cybil, is going to kill me…" he muttered. "But thank God for renovations…"

Greg lifted the hammer that had been left in the array of tools above his head, before he cut it down swiftly and sharply, breaking the doorknob right off of the door. It only took a few seconds of fumbling to get the other side off as well, before he flung open the door and darted into his closet, pulling on a shirt, a tie, dress pants, and his white coat. He grabbed his keys and cell and raced out into the living room, where he noticed the clock on the kitchen read 8:32.

"NO!" he thought to himself, trying to pull on his shoes, almost falling over several times in the process.

Sprinting out to his brand new silver corvette, he started it up and peeled out of the driveway and down the street.

Little did he know, Max, Rylee, and Naomi were watching from hers and Sidney's house, the kids giggling profusely as Naomi sighed.

Greg made it to work in a record six and a half minutes, breaking probably every traffic law that has ever existed.

As he emerged from the stairwell and ran into his office, he saw his secretary Sarah as her eyes widened with surprise.

"I know, I know.. I'm late! I'm sorry!"

Confused, she stood up from her desk and walked into his office, a small piece of paper in her hands as she stared at him.

"Doctor Kasal, why are you so early?" she asked, concerned.

"Very funny Sarah!" he exclaimed, bowing his head and shaking it back and forth.

As his protest was met with silence, he looked up at her again, watching as she pointed at the wall clock.

7:40.

"What…?" Greg asked, confused beyond all belief.

"Like I said." she replied, before walking to his desk. "Also, this fax came for you, it's marked as urgent…" she said, setting down a piece of paper in front of him.

He looked at her, still confused, as she walked from the room. Picking the piece of paper, he focused his eyes on one word printed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font in the middle of the page.

"Gotcha."

His eyes immediately snapped to the "From" line, reading off his brother's private fax line.

"That son of a –"

------------------------------------------------

A hour later, Sidney returned from his post-op meeting with Stiles and Nurse Thompson to find his phone line beeping with a new voicemail. Sitting down at his desk, he lounged back in his chair, hands behind his bed as he listened to the automated voice speak first.

"_Friday, 7:53 a.m."_

"_Yeah, hi Sidney, it's me. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for this morning. Oh, and also, you owe me twenty-six dollars for a new doorknob, you jerk. This is only the beginning, little brother – you're mine._

_:pause:_

_W-what? No! I'm chewing out his voicemail… I'm not going to.. ugh FINE._

_Cybil says hello._

_26 dollars – don't think I'll forget._

Click.

Sidney nearly died with laughter as tears streamed down his face. Gaining some composure, he signed onto his computer, where he found Greg an e-card of a dancing heart that was begging for forgiveness. He smiled as he sent it, before he turned back to his paperwork, still half laughing.

A mere three minutes later, a ding was heard, the signal of a new email. Turning back to his computer, Sidney collapsed into his previous fit of laughter as he read the rebuttal email from Greg.

-------------------------------

_From: gkasal(a)hopehospital.ab  
_

_"I hate you."_

_PS: 26 dollars._

-------------------------------_  
_

As he pulled off his glasses to wipe tears from his eyes, Sidney dialed his wife's cell phone, who picked up on the second ring.

"I was right – it was worth it. I am SO much better at pranks than Greg will ever be."

Spoken like a true Kasal.

* * *

Haha. Hahaha. Oh man. This is my brother and I to a T. I was a good little sister for the most part - before we started tormenting each other :) Ah, the good years. What good is a sibling for if you can't torment, right? 

Hope you enjoyed!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY DA FIC ITB - gah!


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